---
title: "Hamilton finishes FP2 on top in Brazil"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2017/11/10/hamilton-finishes-fp2-top-brazil/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Kyran Gibbons"
section: "F1 News"
published: "2017-11-10T17:38:34Z"
modified: "2017-11-10T17:38:34Z"
---

# Hamilton finishes FP2 on top in Brazil

Mercedes once again sat at the top of the timesheet, as Lewis Hamilton edged out team-mate Valtteri Bottas in FP2 ahead of the Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Hamilton’s 1m09.515s was the session benchmark. The four-time champion posted the time on the second lap of the qualifying simulation run, after having aborted his first as a result of a lock-up at Turn 8.

Team-mate Bottas ended the afternoon second. He was just 0.048s adrift of Hamilton.

Both Mercedes drivers made only small improvements when comparing their soft tyre to their super-soft tyre times. Hamilton improved by two tenths, while Bottas’ time on the softest rubber was three tenths quicker compared with the harder tyre.

Mercedes’ rivals demonstrated a wider performance difference between the compounds. Daniel Ricciardo finished the session third, with a time just two tenths behind Hamilton’s effort after finding more time on the super-soft tyre.

Sebastian Vettel finished the session fourth and Max Verstappen was just behind in fifth. The two were separated by 0.01s.

Kimi Raikkonen in sixth was three tenths further behind. The Finn was, however, the first driver to complete a qualifying simulation run and therefore, set his time on a comparatively green track.

Esteban Ocon earned best-of-the-rest status in seventh and Felipe Massa ended a promising Friday in eighth.

Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr recovered from anonymous FP1 outings for Renault by finishing FP2 in ninth and 11th respectively.

Hulkenberg’s fastest time was three tenths clear of his team-mate’s, but skewed by the German having managed to gain a tow from a Force India through sector three.

Fernando Alonso in 10th suffered a session partially truncated by power unit issues. He returned to the pits after five laps but emerged later for a qualifying simulation and long run, albeit with continued gremlins.

Stoffel Vandoorne had a spin at Turn 2 en route to 13th. Haas’ Romain Grosjean and Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson also spun during the session. Grosjean lost control at Turn 4, while Ericsson spun at Turn 12 and made contact with the barrier. The pair finished 15th and 19th respectively.